Genetic Hybrids

Overview

Genetic hybrids are organisms produced by combining the genetic material of two genetically distinct parents, typically from different species, subspecies, breeds or strains. In the animal kingdom, hybridisation occurs when members of different but related species interbreed, producing offspring that carry a mixture of both parents' traits; familiar examples include the mule, the offspring of a horse and a donkey. Hybrids can arise naturally where the ranges of related species overlap, or they can be produced deliberately through controlled breeding to combine desirable characteristics. Many interspecific hybrids show reduced fertility or are sterile because of differences in chromosome number or structure between the parent species, a phenomenon central to the study of reproductive isolation and speciation. Hybridisation is of broad interest in zoology and evolutionary biology, as it sheds light on how species boundaries are maintained, how genes can move between populations, and how new lineages may form. The phenomenon also has implications for conservation, where hybridisation between closely related taxa can affect the genetic integrity of wild populations. Zoological Research, as an OpenAccessPub journal, covers animal biology, genetics, reproduction and evolution. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to genetic hybrids and the study of hybridisation in animals.

Research published in this journal

1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.

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